Re: Linux and Software Freedom

On 17 août, 08:32, Asa Dotzler <[email protected]> wrote:
> Answering the question "am I on the latest version"
> is the primary usability goal of the About window for Mozilla. We think
> we can answer that in a way that isn't confusing for most people and
> doesn't require users to guess about whether "the Web" or "a friend" of
> "something I read on twitter" are reporting accurately on what the
> latest version is for that user.

and also re :

> Users shouldn't have to learn how to find out if they're up to date.
> Features like this should just work. If the primary reason we have the
> version information in the about dialog is, as I assert, to help users
> determine if they're up to date then the feature is not terribly usable
> as is. If we change it to remove confusion and to be explicit about the
> up-to-date-edness of the user's Firefox, then we have made it more usable.
>
> - A

I think this discussion is finally making progress here. Therein lies
the rub : you assert that the "About Firefox" dialog's main use-case
is to know whether or not one is on the latest version, whatever
number that is. A lot of opposing voices are claiming that the main
use-case is to know *precisely* the version number, and that this use
case is fairly well-established.

I respectfully submit to you that an "About <Program>" window
shouldn't even be phoning home to check for updates in the first
place. If a user wants to check for updates, let him have something
more _easily_ discoverable, like a top-level "Check for Updates" menu
item. If this doesn't suit you or the UX team, let me then second the
proposal to have the version number displayed in the About Firefox
dialog only when the program is out-of-date.